Guild Recruitment: We Want You!

With the summer doldrums fully upon us and people taking extended breaks due to the coming expansion for World of Warcraft (Cataclysm, not to mention Starcraft 2, some in guild may be feeling that we need more to fill in the gaps. But what if your plans may be 10 mans in Cataclysm? What if all the folks who went on break come back and you have too many for 25 man raids?

These can be difficult choices especially if you are a guild like mine thats more casual and focuses on the close knit comradery of not that many people having to sit during raids, and people playing with one another for several years in some cases.

So as a guild leader or officer, what do you do, well I have some thoughts (I know shocker)…

What is Your Current Focus?

If your current focus is 25 man or 10 man raids, and you just lost a bunch of folks due to whatever the reason (not showing up, account cancelled, work, family, etc.) then you should find some alternatives.

1. Identify the lost members class/benefits. Decide which other classes can bring the same buffs etc. That you just lost. If you lost a boomkin, perhaps an unholy death knight is an easier find on your server. Take the inventory and figure out what you can recruit.

2. Determine how many you want to recruit. If you were doing 25 man raids, and you lost 5 people, and you have 3 who typically sit on overflow, you might be inclined to recruit 2 people, I would say recruit the 5 you lost, and try for a bit more. This is not the time to be stingy. Your most loyal members will most likely continue to show up, but the newer recruits may not stick around. So get more than you need and sort through it later

3. Are you going to be doing hard modes or stopping at the end of normal modes? This is a decision that you need to understand to be open and honest with new recruits and your members. Some members may just want to see the content and not care about the extra challenge of hard modes. If thats the case see number 1 and 2. You may need to recruit more to get you where the majority of your guild want to be.

What is Your ‘Clysm?

This is essentially what your focus for cataclysm will be. Do you want to have a diverse population that will help the guild level faster, which if you are a PVE focused guild, maybe include more PVP to get those guild achievements? Remember only your top producers right now will help you level the guild, and the question becomes do you have 10 or so very active members that are going to push your guild’s level?

Find those who want to get in on a guild right when Cataclysm kicks off. Guild rep is going to be a big thing, changing guilds resets that rep. Tell folks to get in on the ground floor of it all and help build the guild up.

For raiding, in Cataclysm expect many guilds to go the 10 man route. Less coordination and same loot. However do not underestimate the power of starting a 25 man and splitting it up to up to 3 10 mans. Do the 25s for extra badges then split up for progression perhaps. Either way keep the plan and be able to answer questions for new recruits

How to Recruit?

There are many ways to recruit.

1. Invite members to pug raids, if they are unguilded and whisper them after the raid if they would be interested in joining your guild. Don’t poach existing members unless they inquire about your guild first. This is a great way to meet new folks and build some relationships and spread the word about your guild even if you don’t get anyone to join based on it. Inviting pugs together also lets you evaluate folks without bringing them into your guild first.

2. Create a macro to use in game. Make sure to join the in-city guild recruitment channel. Unguilded people are in this channel by default, if you are guilded you can join by typing “/join guildrecruitment”. Now you can specifically target those that are not guilded and looking. Also you may need to fight through the trolls but don’t be afraid to also broadcast in trade chat or general chat. Both are inhabited by many people some of who are already considering making a change.

Things you want to include in your macro:

Raid Times (if you raid) if you don’t raid identify guild event times. For example: Raids Tue/Wed/Thur 8pm-11pm EST. Immediately when seeing this I can decide if those raid times meet my needs

Classes/Specs Needed. List what classes, specs, roles you need. This is to not waste people’s time. Example: LF5 Spriest, Boomkin, Tank, 2 Heals. Here you know someone is looking for a shadow priest, a boomkin, 1 tank assuming any class and 2 healers also assuming any class.

What your guild does. Say what your guild’s current focus is. Example: Working on ICC10/25 & RS10/25. This tells prospective members that “oh this guild is doing Icecrown and Ruby Sanctum and they do both 10 and 25 mans).

More information. End with a PST for more info or see www.guildsite.com. This give the prospective recruit a place to ask additional questions if necessary.

You may also include a blurb about your guild if you have space, remember your macro can only be 255 characters long and at least 3 of those are reserved for the channel and a space afterwards (i.e. “/2 “). Do not make a double macro, double macros are 2 macros together that tell the whole story, but guess what its too much reading, too much spam in a channel, don’t get yourself reported, ignored. Getting ignored by folks definitely is not the path you want in order to recruit.

Remember your macro is a brief advertisement, the best advertisements are short, succinct and give the information about the product, in this case your guild.

3. Realm Forums. Post up something on your server’s forum. The chances for spam are far less than the WoW at large recruitment forums. Here you can be a bit longer, but you should include all the points from the guild macro.

Raid Times

What you need (Classes/Specs)

What your guild is currently working on

More information

DO NOT respond to trolls, if you absolutely must respond to anyone who posts something negative, report the post and simply post “thanks for the bump”. NEVER feed the trolls. This goes for when recruiting in-game via macros as well, ignore them, most good recruits you get ignore them anyway. Fighting with them just makes you look as immature and less desirable as them anyway. You don’t want that.

4. Twitter. Even with only 140 characters you can try to recruit here, especially if you have a good followership, chances are maybe someone is interested in joining. Say what you are looking for, perhaps raid/event times and put “DM for more info”.

Conclusion (TLDR)

So to recruit remember to:

Identify what you need, classes and specs

Know what your current goals are in Wrath of the Lich King

Know what your goals are for the next expansion if asked

Plan out your recruitment strategy along different mediums

Keep your message short and to the point

Self Promotion Time!

If you are looking for an EST guild that raids 8pm-11pm. Alliance side. We are looking for:

Feral Druid Tank

Warlock

Holy Paladin

Holy Priest

Resto Shaman

Visit http://phalanxofnod.com for more information. Be part of a guild with long history (5+ years old), get in on the ground level for an epic guild experience in Cataclysm!